Living Near a World Heritage Site Boosts Property Values

Living near a world heritage site in the UK might mean putting up with a lot of tourists but it certainly helps property prices with new research showing homes in these locations are worth 27% more.

Whereas the average UK home is valued at £284,127, properties in or near locations with World Heritage Status awarded by UNESCO status can carry a heftier price tag of £77,993, according to research from property portal Zoopla.

The Orkney Islands are the UK’s most affordable World Heritage Site to buy a property near while homes near the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey are the most expensive.

Homes close to the Neolithic monuments in Orkney currently cost an average of £130,169, coming in at 178% less than the average house price near to a World Heritage Site in the UK at £362,120.

UNESCO sites in Bradford and Liverpool are the least expensive urban sites. Saltaire, an industrial village from the second half of the 19th century within the city of Bradford is the most affordable urban site with a typical property here costing £155,868.

Liverpool’s Maritime Mercantile City, includes the Albert Docks and the largest collection of Grade I-listed buildings anywhere in the UK, and has a typical property price of £167,771.

Zoopla analysis found the longer an area has enjoyed World Heritage Status, the higher the property values are, as the area reaps the economic benefits. The first 10 UK locations to be granted World Heritage Status between 1986 and 1987, including Bath, Stonehenge and Blenheim Palace, have an average value of £424,873, compared to just £274,611 for the locations chosen since 2000.

In July of this year the Forth Bridge in Scotland became the UK’s latest World Heritage Site. Located between Edinburgh and Dunfermline, average homes in the area currently cost £202,011.

The traditional World Heritage Sites in London are the most expensive to live near. Properties in the proximity of the Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey are comfortably the priciest heritage location in the country, with a typical value of £1,715,292.

‘Bradford and Liverpool offer fantastic opportunities for potential buyers to live in cities which have shaped world culture,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla .

‘Britain’s World Heritage Sites have contributed massively to our history and our research shows that living near to one can add significantly to a property’s value. Looking at the most recent site to gain World Heritage Status, home owners near the Forth Bridge could expect to see property values increase in future, as the full benefits the award brings to the area begin to be felt,’ he added.